The Boxer
by Bojangles78
Summary: My interpretation of Alice and Jasper when they met in Philadelphia for the first time. Hope you enjoy!
1. First Sight

It was raining again. The absence of sunlight meant that I could go outside without attracting too much attention, however, it had been a while since I'd hunted, my eyes blacker by the day, so surrounding myself with potential victims could prove disastrous. Still, it was better than sitting inside, reading Turn of the Screw _again_, so I put on my jacket and hat and made my way to downtown Philadelphia.

Twenty minutes later, although it could have been two if I had run, I was stood at the edge of the park, trying desperately to contain my growing thirst. The scents of many humans were blown towards me by the howling winds, muted a little by the torrential rain. This had been a bad idea, I began to think, until a wave of an unfamiliar emotion washed over me; slight impatience, and something more. I turned, trying to locate its source and the most beautiful of smells hit me. Not human, but close. I faintly recognized it, something from another lifetime; it was another vampire, who appeared to be in or near the shabby diner which had probably served as a speakeasy in the distant days of prohibition.

Again came the scent, drowning out the hundred others that had passed me that day, intoxicating and wonderful. I crossed the street to the narrow pavement almost completely submerged by water. The diner- 'Pete's Diner' according to the sign above its entrance- was half-empty, the few customers inside ordering cup after cup of coffee in order to wait out the storm outside.

There was one customer who I realized was being eyed warily by the staff; sat alone with a full cup of coffee and an untouched bagel, her beautiful black eyes expectant. It was her, the scent I had smelt and the emotion I had sensed. She was a vampire, there was no doubt about it; the pale skin, black eyes and unnerving beauty I had come to expect from 'our kind' were all present. Yet, this vampire was far more beautiful than any other I'd known, including Maria.

Her hair was short, and wildly curly, pulled off of her face by a bright blue ribbon that matched the flowing skirt which stopped just below her knees. She wore round glasses, probably to disguise the unusual colour of her eyes, but had no jacket with her despite the rain outside. This would explain the strange looks she was receiving, as she had most likely been sat in that seat, still as a statue, for days on end; I noticed that the bagel on the table in front of her had a small patch of mould creeping around it.

She slid off of the stool she had been perched upon and walked, no, danced towards me, smiling.

"You've kept me waiting a long time." Waiting for what? I was intrigued, but very cautious not to offend her.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," I replied, touching my hat, my Southern accent outstanding in the quiet diner.

She smiled again, and introduced herself: "I'm Alice, Alice Brandon, and you're Jasper Whitlock. Pleased to meet you."

I stood, stunned, as she slipped her hand into mine and led me out of 'Pete's'. I could have let go of her hand, destroyed her within seconds if I wanted, but her emotion was compelling, addictive, so I held on and followed her, well aware of the eyes boring into us as we left.

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**AN -So... what did you think? I took the title of the story from a Simon & Garfunkel song (The Boxer) which reminds me of Jasper pretty much every time I hear it!**


	2. Introductions and Explanations

When we got outside, the street was deserted, save for an unread newspaper being blown towards us by the increasing wind, the headline reading "Wealthy Politician and Wife Go Missing" Oops. They had been staying in the hotel room next to mine- kept the whole place awake with their arguing.

We both stopped, to see whether there were any potential witnesses. There weren't.

"Follow me," said Alice, and began to run as fast as light itself.

Several minutes, maybe hours, maybe seconds later she stopped in the middle of a dense forest, completely clear of humans for miles. In front of us was a tall, ancient tree, covered by glossy green leaves. She-no, Alice- climbed the old tree quickly and sat herself on a branch almost 50 metres from the ground. I followed, and sat down next to her.

"Could you please explain to me, Miss, how you know my name?" I asked as politely as I could, my mind screaming hundreds of not exactly related questions at me.

She smiled brilliantly again; it seemed that every time she did, a part of me that I had forgotten existed would reappear.

"To be honest, I'm not really too sure myself. The first thing I remember is waking up and," she paused, almost embarrassed, "seeing your face. It's taken my quite some time to figure out who, or what, I really am. I got more visions: I saw myself hunting; travelling to Philadelphia; meeting you. I've heard of a family near Seattle who we meet. It's incredible, they manage to feed on animals-their eyes are the most incredible colour- one's even a doctor, who treats humans!" I sat there, stunned, and not for the first time since meeting Alice either.

"So, are you going to tell me about yourself?" she asked.

"If you want me to?" It felt like more of a question, although I was pretty sure she already knew.

"Of course I want to know," she laughed, a most beautiful sound, "that's why I came to find you."

"Are you sure? It's not exactly a nice story," I warned her. I was pretty sure I wouldn't _scare_ her, but I didn't want for her to be as utterly repulsed by it as I still was. Alice nodded eagerly, and slid up the branch a little more so that we were almost touching.

"Well," I began, "I was born in Texas in about 1843, and until I was sixteen or so I lived with my parents and my younger sisters Rebecca, Susannah and Jessica." I continued, going on to tell her about being in the Army, the War, and eventually, Maria. I was getting close to talking about what _she_ had made us do when all of a sudden, I had to stop, the painful memories flooding my mind; the fear, hatred and anger I had experiences in those years, the loneliness I had faced, the scars plastered over my body that Alice, thankfully, could not see. I tried to push them from my mind and focus on the beautiful vampire sat next to me, but I couldn't. I felt her confusion surrounded my pain like a blanket, and I wanted so badly to say something, anything, to reassure her but every time I tried to open my mouth, _her_ face reappeared in my mind, malicious and narcissistic, evil and haunting.

"Jasper," Alice murmured. I turned to face her, and she took my shaking hand. "It's OK. You don't have to tell me if you don't want." My hand was still in hers; giving me the courage I needed to carry on.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, "it's just that I'm not used to talking about myself- I haven't really ever met anyone who's been that interested." I laughed nervously, images of Maria still flashing through my mind.

"You see, the...person who turned me into a, you know, wasn't exactly compassionate. She was determined to create an army of us and determined to make it the best our kind had ever known. After a while, it was my job to-" I had to stop for a moment to steady myself again. "It was my job to...destroy those who weren't good enough. That's how I got so many bites," I added, seeing her suddenly noticing the scars that lined my neck.

"Eventually, once a friend of mine had left, I too decided it was time to leave, so I walked away from Maria and the newborns to wander around early Twentieth century America, and I've been headed to the coast to visit Europe, although I never really felt any enthusiasm for the idea- after almost a century in the South it will be far too small!" Alice smiled; I returned the expression gladly, after all, smiling wasn't exactly something I did often.

"What about you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to tell me about yourself?" She dropped my hand abruptly and looked away.

"I already have" she replied in a small voice. "I-I don't remember anything of my human life. I didn't even realise I had been human until a few months ago, when-" She stopped mid-sentence and nearly fell off of the branch we were sat on. I put out an arm to hold her closer to me, but she wouldn't look at me; her eyes watching some distant scene.

"Alice? Alice? Alice what's wrong?" Still she was silent, and I worried that I had somehow offended her. I was about to apologise when her head snapped around to face me, eyes now totally alert.

"I've seen something," she croaked, "another vampire. She's mad and I think she's coming after us, no, you."

I knew almost immediately who she was talking about, and Alice looked at me as if to confirm my fears.

"_Maria._"


	3. Confrontation

**AN-Sorry its taken me a while to upload, I've been so busy- 3 performances of Bugsy Malone (I was in the band XD), German mock exams and History coursework... Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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We stayed up in the trees, motionless, staring at each other, for what could easily been a week. Time, I was quickly beginning to realise, passed so quickly with Alice, too quickly almost. I tried my hardest to focus on her, and only her, but the last word either of us had spoken kept crossing my mind, no matter how many times I attempted to push it out.

_Maria_.

The mere mention of her name sent a thrill of fear and anger through me. But why was she coming now, when I'd left so long ago? Had she been tracking down the others from those terrible days: Annaliese; Sam; Peter and Charlotte, others who'd been able to escape?

I knew that once she found me, she would try to destroy me; after all, I had seen many times for myself what had happened to others who disagreed or questioned her authority. Still, I was a fighter, she had _made _me a fighter, and I would certainly fight her off, destroy her if I had to.

A sudden movement broke the silence. Looking down, for that was where the sound had come from, I saw a deep red scarf trapped between two holly bushes, but looking around could not see anyone to whom it could have belonged to, which meant only one thing, something that I was assured of as soon as the scent hit my nostrils. I knew immediately who it had been.

"Alice," I spoke urgently, not wanting to waste time. "Alice, we have to go." I took hold of her hand again and began leading her down the trunk of the tree, only to find her resist.

"Alice!"

"No," she hissed. "She'll come back again; we'll talk to her then." I had almost forgotten about Alice's...talent.

"Oh, OK," I agreed, and then realised what she had said. We were going to actually _talk_ to Maria? I wanted so desperately to believe Alice but I knew deep down that this surely could not be possible; whenever Maria had been mad she would destroy first and ask questions later, in fact, when she wasn't mad she did the same. The only time she talked first would be when she wanted something.

Shoot.

"How long?"I asked Alice quickly. She nodded, indicating that she had understood my question, and suddenly her face freeze in concentration.

"2 minutes." I squeezed her hand tightly, afraid to let go. I wanted so badly to run away, taking Alice with me, but I knew that with Maria this close we would never get away in time.

Again came the sound, this time accompanied by the familiar rush of emotion that I had experienced for the first century of my life, her scent floating up into the canopy of branches that we sat in; overwhelming, sickly sweet. I was no more prepared than I had been a week ago to see her again, but if she was angry, as Alice had said, then I knew that I should go to her before she could find us.

Reluctantly, I let go of Alice's small hand and laid it down carefully on the branch next to her. I looked over her face, memorising every perfect detail, hoping it would keep me strong. She knew what I was about to say the moment I opened my mouth, that much was obvious from the way she slid herself along the branch closer to me.

"I've not known you for very long, Alice," I whispered, "but even so, I love you. I know that you're going to want to get away from me as soon as you hear what Maria has to say, you'll be repulsed by me, and I know that, so all I can ask of you is to forgive me, some day."

Without looking back, I jumped down from the tree, watching as fifty feet of branches and ivy rushed past me at a superhuman speed. She was there as I landed, brushing a couple of twigs from my hair, and I took a nervous step towards her.

Thirty years had not changed her; she stood as tall as she always had, her glossy black hair swept up on top of her head to keep it out of her face (so that she could concentrate on the newborns, she'd always said), she was even wearing the same black dress she had worn so many years ago. She saw me looking at her, and smiled, with the evil glint I knew so well returning to her eyes.

I swallowed.

"Jasper Whitlock," she said, the slight Spanish accent still evident in her antique voice.

I swallowed again, nervous to make eye contact.

"Well," she murmured, gliding closer to me, smiling still. With mere inches between us, she stopped, and leaned in closer, her sugary breath burning my nostrils.

"Hasn't it been a long time? I come back one day, near exhausted after dealing with many of the newborns you yourself had suggested I create, only to find you weren't there!" Her voice was beginning to rise dangerously; I hoped somewhat selfishly that Alice could not hear.

"I looked all over Texas, New Mexico, Arizona even, and not a single person had even heard of you, until I had explained what you were that is, and even then they had only ever seen you with me. We were supposed to be inseparable, Jasper! Inseparable, you hear me? Only, you evidently did not think so, did you?" She paused. "Did you not care for me enough to even leave a clue as to where you were? I didn't even know if you still existed!" Another pause.

I continued scanning the dense forest for potential threats; surely she had not come alone. In front of me, Maria took a deep breath.

"Look at me!" She screamed so loud I wouldn't have been surprised if they had heard her in Washington.

"For a century I was your partner, we were the most powerful pair our kind had ever seen, and you walked away from it all, from me, for what? Some crazy, insignificant fortune teller who you did not even know existed until a few days ago?"

"She's not crazy, Maria, and she's more significant to me than you could ever be." I spoke quietly, sensing that she was close to breaking point.

As soon as I had finished speaking, a sudden rush of anger washed over me and a found myself face to face with a cruel, heartless vampire who thought that I had once loved her.

Alice had been right: Maria _was_ mad.


	4. Another Point of View

**AN- I am SO SORRY it's taken me so long to upload this, I've had a million (well, 10, same thing) Mocks to revise for but they're OVER XD so here you go, hope you like it! And I know its short, I just thought it would make a nice change to have Alice's POV as well :)**

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Alice sat totally still in the trees above, thinking.

At least, she had been thinking until a sudden intake of breath from Maria (and the shouting that followed) startled her and she slipped, quite gracefully, several feet from the branch she had been perched on. Quickly, careful not to attract the attention of the vampire below, Alice grabbed hold of the massive Oak she had been flying past and returned to her original state.

"_She's not crazy, Maria, and she's more significant to me than you could ever be."_ I could hear them clearly from where I stood, and as Jasper said those words a sudden sense of happiness and pride filled my still heart, invisible butterflies forcing an unwilling grin onto my face. I replayed to myself every single thing he had said to me, to keep myself occupied until I saw something.

"_I'm sorry, ma'am" he replied, touching his hat softly, a small smile on his scarred face. I knew at that moment that I'd found him, and everything suddenly felt...awesome!_

Another movement below made me jump again. Jasper was stood mere inches from the other vampire, who was by now so angry she was actually shaking a little. She muttered something, so quietly that I couldn't hear her, and swiftly jerked her head upwards to the stormy sky, looking.

Looking for me.


	5. More Introductions

**AN- Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it, and THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the people who've reviewed so far, I really appreciate it :)**

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"Someone's up there," hissed Maria.

I'd heard the rustling in the leaves above, and, evidently, so had Maria. A vicious smile spread across her face, and her crimson lips parted in a 'V' of delight as she looked up into the trees.

"It's her, isn't it?" I nodded numbly; lying would have made things worse.

"Alice," she shouted, "Alice, why don't you come and join us? I'm sure you'd _love_ to hear about what your precious little Jasper used to be like, wouldn't you?" I have to be perfectly honest; I never honestly thought I'd ever, _ever_ hear someone cackle, until, as we heard Alice falling from the trees above, Maria let out a screech of laughter that shook the roots around us, sending an invisible shiver down my spine.

Next to me, Alice landed elegantly, brushing a couple of leaves from her glossy dark hair. I reached out to touch her hand, but before my hand had moved an inch she was whipped away from me, and I found myself closer to Maria.

"Now then, Alice, has Jasper," she said my name as if there was something nasty in her throat, "ever told you about me?" Vain as ever then.

"Yes, but I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway," replied Alice cheerfully.

This annoyed Maria (many things, as I'm sure you have realised by now, annoyed Maria); her scarlet eyes narrowed and she took a step towards me, tracing a finger gently along my face.

"Please don't do that," I muttered stiffly. She stopped briefly and considered for about a second before draping her arms around me. I tried to free myself from her arms, cold as chains, but she wrapped them tighter, tight enough to strangle me...if I needed to breathe, that is.

"You see, Jasper and I used to be rather close," she began, her sickly sweet breath tickling my face, "we were known all across the South, _feared_ all across the South. If he'd stayed with me, as he'd always promised he would, there would have been no-one else to turn to- we could have controlled most of North America, and had been close to conquering the Central countries when he left."

She stopped, unwrapped herself from me, and walked around the spot where Alice stood, who was stood with an empty look in her eyes. She was seeing something, but I didn't think _now_ would be a brilliant time to mention this.

"Well?" demanded Maria, "What have you got to say to me? Do you want me to continue?"

Alice continued staring into nothingness, totally unaware of what was going on around us. Impatient as ever, Maria walked towards her once more, a defiant expression on her once beautiful face.

"Can you hear me?"She taunted, smirking, until I felt her snap into sheer fury.

This was not good. Every time I had felt this emotion from her, it had not ended well. I almost flew to Alice's side, a growl building in my throat. Maria saw this and threw me out of the way.

I'd forgotten how strong she could be.

I turned and sank into a low crouch, and watched as Maria stalked towards Alice and spat twice at her feet. I leapt towards them, crashing into Maria like an axe into a tree. My teeth, which I had not used in so long, sank into her ancient skin, ripping her stone body apart.

Of course, it wasn't an easy fight. As soon as she got a chance, Maria whistled once, releasing the two vampires who had accompanied her from the depths of the forest. They dived towards me and began to do to me what I had done to so many like them.

Newborns! Had she never seen me fight? She was the one who had taught me to fight newborns, and I demonstrated this by destroying them within minutes, grateful for the packet of matches in my pocket. I threw their few remains onto the gently crackling fire, and it swelled to a shadowy purple colour, flames licking the trunks of the trees around it. Once they had been dealt with, I focused my attention on Maria, and more importantly, Alice. Where were they?

The forest around me seemed to be deserted of all life, alive _and_ dead. I scaled an unharmed tree, eager for a better place to be able to see them, until, when I was barely 60 feet in the air, I heard Alice's scream.

"JASPER!"

Crap.


	6. Grande Finale

**AN- Sorry it's been a while (again!), I think this'll probably be the final chapter, do you think I should do an epilogue? Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and more importantly, Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weinachten etc!**

I ran as fast as I could (which is actually quite fast) in their direction, swatting the branches as they threatened to knock me over. After at least 5 miles, it could have been more, I stopped dead.

"Alice!" She was stood about 2 metres from me, totally still. I knew Maria was nearby; it would be too simple for her to just _leave._ Alice clearly sensed my unease.

"It's OK, Jasper. We're going to get rid of her." Alice said as she walked towards me. I quickly met her, and pulled her into a tight embrace that could have lasted forever.

"Alice, I'm so sorry" I whispered into her hair, and even then I had to lean down a considerable amount.

"You don't have to-" she began, and stopped suddenly.

I turned to face Maria for what felt like the fiftieth time today, although it was probably more like the third, and waited a moment. She was truly striking: glossy black hair, hung in elaborate ringlets; deep crimson eyes that matched her scarf; surprisingly pointy nails which I had seen make a particularly effective weapon. She was the perfect hunter, and she had come to hunt me.

I could deal with that, I decided, so long as Alice was not harmed. I felt awfully guilty for dragging her into this when she had done nothing, but I was grateful for her presence as I felt it calming me whilst I prepared myself.

A look in my eye must have given me away, because Maria's emotions abruptly changed to become pleading and frightened.

"Jasper," she begged, "Jasper, please don't."

I looked straight ahead, trying to block out everything that would sway me from my decision.

"Very well." Maria snarled, and clicked her fingers once. Almost immediately, two vampires sprung from the shadows.

"Laurence, come and help me with this one!" she yelled, "and Pearl, take care of the little one." They were startlingly obedient for vampires of their age.

It was as I was thinking this that the male and Maria began to advance towards me, eyes flashing with anger, teeth glinting dangerously. I was already anticipating the moves Maria would have instructed Laurence to make, and had seen Maria fight hundreds of times. So long as I didn't make any sudden movements I would be OK.

Laurence came at me first, leapt from fifty metres away to stare threateningly into my eyes. This was Maria's most _cliché_ tactic, and I laughed in his face, taunting him before quickly tearing his arm off. He howled for her now, and she sprang just as close to me.

"You'll wish you'd never left me, _Major Whitlock_" she sneered.

I would have replied, but decided instead to buck the trend and attack her as I had only dreamt of until now. After five minutes, her face and neck were covered with crescent shaped-scars, as mine already was because of her. I swiped at her as she crept up on me, and sent her flying for miles.

OK, I exaggerated. 200 yards maybe?

She was soon coming back though, having reunited with Laurence. Alice and the other vampire were nowhere to be seen, although I was fairly confident that Alice wouldn't have too many problems.

This time, Laurence came from the left and Maria from the right, so I sped forwards and laughed as I watched them run into each other with an almighty crash that made the ground shake. Now they were both (albeit temporarily) incapacitated, I dealt with Laurence first, thankful that I had thought to bring a box of matches with me when I left the hotel room so many days ago. I struck the side of the box once with a match and watched as it sprung into flame. Excellent. I tossed it onto what remained of the male vampire, and proceeded towards Maria.

She was pleading again; clearly Laurence had been one of her stronger ones. I remembered how she once said that some people were born to be vampires, and he was probably one of them. Poor soul.

"Jasper," she began again, when I heard Alice's terrified scream for the second time in as many hours.

I practically flew to Alice's side, quickly throwing Pearl's remains onto the gently crackling fire. A hand still crept toward us, an amethyst bracelet indicating that it had belonged to the female. As the pair in the fire burned, we watched curiously as the hand withered and dropped onto the forest floor. This time it was Alice who threw it onto the fire.

"Alice, are you OK?" She looked pale, even for a vampire, and felt subdued and shocked by what she had seen. Still, she nodded quietly in answer to my question, her eyes focused on Maria, who I realised was still alive...well, you know what I mean.

"Wait here a minute," I said and Alice nodded again.

"I've not finished with you yet," Maria stated from the recently created clearing.

This was it. I was about to destroy the only person I had known for almost a century, to save a vampire I'd barely known a week. I'm still not 100% sure why I did it, as examining the reasons it should almost certainly have been the other way round, but I knew that it was the right thing to do, even if it was immediately obvious to the majority of the Southern vampires who weren't too happy with me in the years that followed.

I looked up to see her stalking up through the bushes and sighed as I sprang over to her.

I'll spare you the exact details, but it took longer than I thought it would to destroy her, but soon enough the fire glowed purple and spat smoke into the air as the last of the thunder rolled overheard.

Once this was done, I ran back to Alice and embraced her tightly, not wanting to let her go. Alright, we kissed for a bit, but it started to rain again, so we decided that now would be a good time to head West, look for these 'Vegetarian vampires' Alice had seen, while the humans were inside. I agreed with her because, quite frankly, I'd agree with anything Alice said now.

As we crossed the Nebraska/Wyoming border a week or so later, I stopped to look at her beautiful face. She knew what I was going to say before I said it but allowed me to continue anyway, a (very slightly smug) smile on her face.

"I'm so glad you found me Alice," I said, my hands shaking a little, how embarrassing! "And, I love you."


	7. Epilogue: Lie La Lie

**AN- Well, this is the epilogue. Hope you like it, and sorry its taken me so long to update again!**

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"You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope." Jasper finished and smiled briefly at me as the others watched intently.

After many days' travelling, we had finally made it to Washington, and had spent the last ten minutes introducing and explaining ourselves to the vegetarians. The bronze haired one, Edward, had accepted and believed us immediately; he would reveal to us in a few hours that he can read minds. Carlisle, who was the head and founder of the family, had quickly believed us once Edward had given him a look, and his wife, Esme, had been similarly inviting.

The beautiful blonde one was a different story, however. She eyed us sceptically and everything about her stance showed that she thought herself superior to us in every way, but I knew that we would soon be able to co-exist in peace, even if Jasper did have to..._tweak_ her emotions a little. Her mate, Emmett, who was almost twice as big as me, tried to persuade her in our favour, but it was no use.

Carlisle gave us a quick tour of the surrounding area and explained about the unstable relationship with their Quileute neighbours, showing us where we could and could not hunt and introducing us to some of the tribe, so that they were aware of our existence. They were about as welcoming as the fabulous Rosalie.

Later that day, when Carlisle and Esme and Rosalie and Emmett had 'settled down' for the night and Edward had gone hunting far away to distance himself from them, Jasper and I sat down on the (completely pointless, but totally gorgeous) double bed which dominated the room we would share. I was thinking of the numerous ways the room could be decorated; cream walls, lavender cushions, et cetera, when I suddenly realised that I was on a double bed. With Jasper.

I may not have any human memories, but I knew what tended to happen in beds, apart from sleeping. Jasper, who had plenty of human memories, realised this soon after. We moved closer together, not breaking eye contact, his hand brushing my face gently as my fingers absent-mindedly traced the scars on his neck.

You can probably guess what happened next.

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_In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade  
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him  
'til he cried out in his anger and his shame  
**I am leaving, I am leaving**, but the fighter still remains._


End file.
